Nina Simon, head of the Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History, will speak at the Wednesday meeting of the UCSC Women's Club.

Simon will talk about the ways museums are transforming into more social, interactive and civically engaged places. Like many arts institutions, museums are in a real moment of crisis and change to become more relevant and valuable in the contemporary world.

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The meeting begins 11:30 a.m. at the UCSC Arboretum.

Light refreshments will be served. Members and prospective members from the campus and community are welcome.

WATSONVILLE

Film festival features Luis Valdez tribute

The Second Watsonville Film Festival will present 30 documentaries and fiction films and a tribute to Luis Valdez, writer and director of "La Bamba," the biopic about rock 'n' roller Ritchie Valens.

The festival will be March 2-3 at the Mello Center, 250 E. Beach St., and at Cabrillo College's downtown campus, 318 Union St.

VIP tickets, which include entry into all films as well as a reception with Valdez, are $30. A two-day festival pass without reception is $20. Tickets may be purchased at santacruztickets.com.

WATSONVILLE

Sons of Italy to host dinner

Sons of Italy, Watsonville Lodge 2016, will host its second Calamari Dinner on Feb. 23 at the Watsonville Women's Club, 12 Brennan St.

Social hour will start at 6 p.m. with a no-host bar. Dinner will be at 7.

Proceeds will fund an agricultural scholarship.

Tickets are $20 for adults and $10 for children ages 6 to 12. Only 200 tickets will be sold. To purchase tickets, call 831-722-7958 or 831-724-0432.

SANTA CRUZ

Santa Cruz, LA police hold 'Crimefighters Conference'

Members of the Santa Cruz Police Department area heading to Los Angeles next week for the first "Crimefighters Conference," where they'll be joined by officers from the Los Angeles Police Department's Foothill Division.

The two departments are considered pioneers in "predictive policing" technology and have played an instrumental role in the development and implementation of the groundbreaking law enforcement technology.

On Tuesday at the Angeles National Golf Club, Santa Cruz Police Deputy Chief Steve Clark will team with Los Angeles Police Capt. Sean Malinowski and other officers to discuss the future of crime fighting.

SANTA CRUZ

Museum to host nature lectures

Nature lovers are invited to attend lectures held each Saturday through February focused on connecting with nature at the Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History.

The first is titled "160 Years of Changing Bird Life" and will be led by local bird historian David Suddjian. On Feb. 9, an ecologist and geneticist will talk about the importance of genetic research to conservation. That will be followed by a Feb. 16 talk about the ecology of our local sandhills, and on Feb. 23 about local insect species.

All talks will be held 10 a.m.-noon at the museum, 1305 E. Cliff Drive, Santa Cruz. Cost is $8 for museum members, $10 for the general public.

Residents are invited to hear more about the proposals for Anna Jean Cummings Park during a community meeting 7-9 p.m. Tuesday.

During the meeting, officials will review the background of the 97-acre park on Soquel-San Jose Road, as well as current park uses and community proposals for how best to use the undeveloped areas. Among those proposals is installing a nine-hole disc golf course.

The meeting will be held at Congregational Church of Soquel, 4951 Soquel Drive, Soquel.